Liquid-cooling apparatus



H. W. DYER.

LIQUID COOLING APPARATUS. APPLICATIQN FILED IAN.20, 1921.

1,415,231 Patented May 9, 1922.

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l farrjff" ATTORNEY- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LIQUID-COOLIN G APPARATUS.

Application led January 20, 1921.

f/o all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, IIARRY WING DYER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of East AOrange, in the county of Esser and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Liquid- Cooling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a refrigerating apparatus and particularly to an apparatus of this kind designed for cooling liquids such as drinking water and has for an object to provide an apparatus that is light and portable, which is automatic in operation, is regulated by a thermostat, which is supplied with water from the ordinary demijohns and includes certain novel features in the appli-cation of the refrigerating coils, their insulation, radiator system and air circulating system operated by an electric motor.V Other features of novelty will be understood from the following specification and accompanying drawing which shows in section a water cooling apparatus arranged f according to my invention with the operating` motor pump and fan shown in outline. This invention includes the features of, and is an improvement on the invention disclosed in my application Serial No. 125,157, filed October 12, 1916.

This invention consists in providing a tank or reservoir for the liquid to be cooled, which is comparatively long and narrow, thereby exposing a large area of the fluid to the walls of the tank. Surrounding this tank on the outside are located refrigerating coils preferably made from square section tubing and placed closely together. yIn order to obtain a more uniform and better distribution of the refrigerating fluid in these coils, I prefer to use two or more independent spirals placed around the tank, each spiral leading to an independent. cylinder of a pump which maintains the circulation of the refrigerating Huid in these coils. An outer container is placed around these coils and the space between the container and the tank may be filled with a plastic insulating material so that all the heat absorbed by the refrigerating coils shall be taken from the walls 'of the tank. Surrounding 'this container and the remainder of the tank, an asbestos covering or a covering of some corresponding nonconductor of heat is provided.

The tank and refrigerating coils are Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 9, 1922.

Serial No. 438,797.

placed inside a cabinet, usually of circular formation, and surrounding the upper section of this cabinet is a radiator made from copper piping or other suitable material and may be provided with fins to increase the radiating surface. Inside this radiator coil is provided a circular air duct with a series of perforations opposite the radiator coil, whereby when the air is drawn from this air duct a fresh supply of air is drawn from the atmosphere outside the cabinet through perforations in the wall and around the radiator coil, thereby cooling this coil. Each end of the radiator coil is connected with a rceiving tank. These receiving tanks are connected together and partially filled with a volatile liquid. This liquid is fed to each of the square or rectangular refrigerating coils surrounding the tank by a nozzle which causes the liquid to vaporize when drawn into the refrigerating coils by the operating pump. After passing through these coils, this liquid is discharged back into the receivers vthrough a ball valve and the vapor from it is cooled by the radiator and condensed into a liquid form.

On the outside bottom of the refrigerator tank a thermostat is provided which controls an electric motor according to the temperature of the liquid in the tank and brings into operation the refrigerating pump and fan until the temperature of the liquid is reduced, when the thermostat operates to stop the motor.

Referring to the drawing, 10 represents the usual type of glass demijohn filled with water and inverted over the cylinder or tank 11 upon which it is supported through the rubber gasket 12 according to the construction used in the familiar ty e of watercooler. The tank 11 is pre erably made from one piece of metal such as copper and flared at the top as shown to seat the gasket 12, also to receive the sheet metal cover as indicated at 14. An outlet 13 is provided in the bottom of tank 11 to which the usual faucet may be screwed. A cylindrical casing or cabinet 15 is provided as an outer protection to the mechanism. This is suitably supported by the sheet metal base 16 to which three legs corresponding to 17 are rigidly secured and braced by a horizontal member 18. The upper end of tank 11 is surrounded by an asbestos covering or a cover of similar material which is a non- Where it vaporizes and is drawn through the retrigerating coils in the vtorni oi a vapor. lt is common practice in most retrigerating outfits to fill the chamber' 25 with brine and igor certain applications of the present invention brine may be desirable. However, I prefer to use a plastic insulating material indicated at 26 such as fire clay or asbestos compound. rl`his overcomes certain me chanical diliculties that would arise in the use of a brine tank and is highly desirable iu a portable apparatus. The volatilized lfluid in the` reirigerating coils extracts heat from the adjacent mediumv This heat cannot be obtained from the insulating material 26 which is further insulated by the asbestos covering 2a and therefore the heat must be extracted through the Walls of tank ll 'trom the liquid in the4 tank. By using square or rectangular refrigerating coils With a comparatively small section, a large area is eX- posed to the retrigerating fluid or vapor and thiscondition is distributed by using two or more spiral coils around the tank ll., each coil acting independently as a means el: eX- tracting heat from the tank. The large area et contact obtained by the square tubing, the small sectional area of the tube and the multiple spiral area provide for a direct application oit the refrigerating eii'ect :trom these coils without the use of a brine tank common in other types of cooling apparatus.

The air used for cooling the radiator tubes is drawn directly from the atmosphere to the air duct in comparatively large volume Without pressure and the large area of the radiator insures condensation of the vapor discharged by the pump.

ln the construction shovvn, the tank ll can readily be removed by releasing nut 29, The top cover le may be removed by sliding upward and the radiator and receiver' tanks l and 32 may be removed as one unit with outer casing l5, by disconnecting union i2 andpipe 54, thus facilitating assembling and inspection of the apparatus.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. ln a liquid cooling apparatus the combination of a stand having means for detachably supporting an inverted vessel containing' liquid to be chilled, a chamber communicating with said vessel and a refrigerating apparatus supported on said stand comprising coils surrounding said chamber, and mechanical means for maintaining said coils at a loW temperature.

i2.. .ln a liquid cooling apparatus the conibination ot a cabinet having means tor supportingon its upper wall an inverted vessel containing the liquid to be cooled, a chamber or tank within the cabinet positioned to receive the liquid from said vessel` said chamber extending` to substantially the bottom or the cabinet, a reirigerating apparatus mounted in said cabinet and comprising coils, and means `lor circulating the refrigerating medium therein, said coils and said tank being arranged to promote the condurtion otheat from the liquid in said tank to said coils.

3. l'n a liquid cooling apparatus, the combination oi' a cabinet having means for supporting on its upper Wall an inverted vessel containing the liquid to be cooled, a chamber or tank Within the cabinet positioned to receive the liquid from said vessel, said chamber extending to substantially the bottom ot the cabinet, a reirigerating apparatus mounted in said cabinet and comprising coils, means t'or circulating the refrigerating medium therein, said coils and said tank being arranged to promote the conduction of heat from the liquid in said tank to said coils, and means for circulating air through said cabinet to absorb the heat transferred to the reirigerating fluid.

il. ln a liquid cooling apparatus the combination of a cabinet, a reservoir for the liquid to be cooled supported on said cabinet, a tank in said cabinet communicating with said reservoir and means for cooling the liquid in said tank comprising a refrigerating coil surrounding said tank, a motordrivcn pump connerted to one end oi said coil to produce sub-atmospheric pressure therein and thereby volatilize the refrigerating fluid in said coil, a radiator into Which said pump discharges and means for circulating air through said radiator to cool the reitrinjerating duid discharged by said pump.

5. .ln a liquid cooling apparatus the combination oil a stand, a cabinet supported on said stand, a reservoir for the liquidto be cooled, a container in said cabinet communicating with said reservoir, said container having an outlet at its lower end, and means for cooling the liquid in said container comprising refrigeiating coils in proximity thereto, a pump at one end of said coils, a .reducing valve at the other end, a container for the refrigerating fluid intermediate the tivo ends oi? the coil to receive the fluid disn charged from the pump, said container having radiating surface, and means for circulating air through said cabinet across said radiating surface to absorb the heat from the fluid contained therein.

6. ln a liquid cooling apparatus the combination o' a stand, a cabinet supported on said stand, a reservoir for the liquid to be cooled, a container in said cabinet communicating with said reservoir, said container liaving an outlet at its lower end, means for cooling.` the liquid in said container compris ing i-etrigerating coils in proximity thereto, a pump at one end or" said coils, a reducing valve at the other end, a container for the retrigeratinpj fluid intermediate the tvvo ends of the coil to receive the fluid discharged llO v end of said refrigerator coil connected to a receiver tank containing a volatile liquid,

`the other end connected to a pump, the discharge trom said pump connecting to re-v ceiver tank containing said volatile liquid, a radiator surrounding said vertical tank connected to said receiver tank, an air duct placed adjacent to said radiator and an air pump ttor creatinga circulation oit air through said radiator.

8. Ina mechanically operated cooling apparatus, a vertical tank containing 'the substance to be cooled, a retrigerating coil surrounding said tank, an air duct surrouding said vertical tank, a radiator surrounding said air duct, a receiver tank connected to said radiator, one end of said refrigerator coil connected to said receiver tank, the other end o'fsaid refrigerator coil. connected to a pump, the discharge :from said pump connecting to said receiver ltank, an air tan for causing the circulation of air tl'irough said air duct and a motor tor oper ating said pump and said air ian.

9. In a mechanically operated cooling apparatus, the combination oit a cabinet having a vertical. tank containing the substance to be cooled, .a refrigerating coil surrounding said tank, an air duct surrounding said vertical tank, a radiator surrounding said air duct, perforations in the wall of said air duct and corresponding perforations in the wall of said cabinet, a receiver tank connected to said radiator with one end of said refrigerating coil connected with said receiver tank, the opposite end of said refrigerating coil connected with a pump, the discharge from said pump connected with a receiver tank, a fan for exhausting the air from said air duct whereby the circulation of air is created between said perforations through said radiator and a motor for operating said pump and sai-d air fan.

l0. In a mechanically operated cooling apparatus, the combination of a vertical tank containing the substance to be cooled, a retrigerating coil surrounding sai-d tank, an outer container for said coil, an air duct surrounding said container, a radiator surrounding said air duct, receiver tanks connected to the outlets of said radiator, a reiirigerating fiuid in said. receiver tank, said relirigerating coil connecting at one end through a nozzle with Said receiver tank and at the opposite end to a pump, the discharge :from said pump connected with said re ceiver tank, an air fan connected withsaid air duct, a thermostat controlled by the temperature of the liquid in said vertical tank, a motor operating said pump and said air fan, said motor controlled by sai-dthern mostat.

Signed at New York city in the county o'i New York, and Sta-te of New York, thisl 19th day ot January, A. D. 1921.

HARRY WING DYER 

